I’m afraid this was a dnf for me. Reading the rave reviews I think it must be me, but I really struggled to understand the direction the book was going in and although I struggled and reached 50% it just felt that it was getting stranger rather than building. I’m sure it will do really well but the writing style and direction was not for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

In The Cracked Mirror we have two worlds colliding as hard-bitten LA Homicide Detective, Johnny Hawke and elderly English amateur sleuth Penny Coyne have to come together to figure out whodunnit as they go down the rabbit hole to uncover secrets, lies and red herrings all whilst figuring out how on earth these worlds apart personalities are going to successfully work together.

The concept for this book was immediately intriguing - Agatha Christie meets Michael Connelly, ok let's give it a go! I did however, struggle to get into it and it took me a while to get used to the narrative voice and writing style, but once the story found its pace I came to enjoy it despite some of the plot contrivances and coincidences (which after finishing I came to appreciate their place in the plot).

I appreciated the unique set up - not many people can make a crime/crime hybrid novel but here we have a cosy golden age style crime mystery intermingling with a brutal American crime thriller and it works in many ways. It's so creative and different that despite my misgivings at the beginning I'm glad I continued. The settings and situations are vivid and effective and there really is some laugh out loud humour and it all wraps up with an inventive ending that I didn't see coming which I always appreciate.

If you're a mystery/crime/thriller fan I would encourage you to give this out of the ordinary, bonkers and fun book a read because I can pretty much guarantee it won't be like much else you've read.

3.5*

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK | Abacus for a digital review copy of "The Cracked Mirror " in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Oh, where to start with this book? Two apparently irreconcilably different scenarios and characters in the beginning, then worlds collide and the plot thickens until it’s practically set. No spoilers, but the denouement is so complex and unusual as to be beyond belief - for me at any rate. Am I glad that I persisted and finished the book? Probably, yes, but is not one that I would really recommend that you spend valuable hours of your life reading.

You have to pay attention to all the different characters as they all have their part to play and storylines in this book.
A retired English lady and a hard-boiled American detective team up to solve a number of intriguing murders. It shouldn't work ,but it really does!
Zigzagging across 2 continents the story weaves and turns, I was completely enthralled by this read

To be honest, as I sit down to write this review I’ve absolutely no idea what’s going to come out of my fingers. ‘The Cracked Mirror’ is unlike anything I’ve ever read, and it made my head spin. It’s also one of those books that is impossible to review without being extremely vague, or do the genius plot justice.

The book description mentions a mix between Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly. And at the beginning of the story that is most definitely true. Penelope Coyne, who lives in a tiny village in Scotland that seems to have some kind of murder pandemic, is very reminiscent of Miss Marple. I adored her immediately. On the other side of the world, Jonathan Hawke is an LAPD detective who is quite possibly heavily inspired by Bosch. I must admit at that point I preferred Penny’s chapters. There are often instances where American settings just don’t seem to work for me, and whenever the story was set in Los Angeles, I couldn’t wait to get back to Scotland.

Both of these characters are investigating apparent suicides. At some point, their paths will cross and without wanting to give anything away, let’s just say things go somewhere entirely unexpectedly. That moment when I realised what was going on, my jaw dropped and I needed a moment to absorb it all. What an incredibly clever and refreshing way to tell a crime story.

‘The Cracked Mirror’ is a book you should go into knowing as little as possible. I have a feeling it is most likely a story one will either love or not, not quite a middle way. Sure, some technicalities may have gone slightly over my head but I was hugely intrigued from start to finish, probably adding many frown lines to my forehead along the way, but happy to let the author lead me wherever it was he was going with this complex tale. These two characters couldn't possibly be more different from each other, yet somehow an unlikely kind of friendship is formed. And this is done so well that ... well, I can't really say but there might have been a tiny lump in my throat at some point.

Do yourself a favour : go in blind and keep an open mind, dear readers. And you too might find this one thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining.

In The Cracked Mirror, Scottish crime author Chris Brookmyre asks the question that crime genre lovers have not thought to ask themselves. What would happen if Miss Marple met Harry Bosch and had to solve a crime together. In doing so, Brookmyre has plenty of fun with not only these but a couple of other classic, trope-filled sub-genres of crime fiction. And in doing so has not really needed any more suspension-of-disbelief moments than considering why an old woman has had to solve 15 murders in a small Scottish village.
The Cracked Mirror opens in two strands. The first involves renegade LA detective Tommy Hawke. Hawke is a hard drinking, hard living detective who has a reputation for getting his partners killed or injured. He is put onto an apparent suicide of a screenwriter at an independent film company, and while he suspects foul play, the pressure is on for him to sign off on the death and move on. Soon, as expected in this type of narrative, Hawke is suspended and flying himself to Scotland to follow a lead. Meanwhile in the Scottish village of Saint Culthar, eighty-three year old sleuth Penelope ‘Penny’ Coyne solves yet another murder and then finds herself mysteriously invited to a wedding where she becomes involved in another suspicious suicide, this one in the publishing industry and with connections to Hawke’s case.
The Cracked Mirror reads like a love letter to two venerated crime authors and the sub-genres that they excel in – Agatha Chistie and Michael Connelly. Particularly when the two protagonists get together and have to adapt to each other’s idiosyncrasies. And Brookmyre uses this to bring in other crime fiction element. There is a third strand involving a hard boiled detective called Rattigan and other fictional detectives from Sherlock Holmes to Dirk Gently get name checked.
But, importantly, The Cracked Mirror is a good crime novel in its own right. Underneath it all there are a number of mysteries to be solved. And while Brookmyre hints at one that explains the sheer craziness of his premise, the actual crime (or crimes?) are actually solved by the pair combining their powers and methods. And even more than this, Brookmyre actually also manages to deliver an emotional through line and a fair amount of poignancy when he brings all of his threads together.
The Cracked Mirror crosses crime sub-genres and mashes established literary genres in such a knowing and understanding way that it all works. There are plenty of meta-levels to delve into in The Cracked Mirror and what it says about crime fiction – from book to screenplay to movie. But even they become integral to the overall plot which is tense, playful, engaging, a little weird and ultimately satisfying.

Sadly I failed to finish this book 😞 I just could not get on with the writing style. It was too wordy and just wasn’t gripping me.

Me and Heather (@books.on.the.moon ) tried to do this as a buddy read but just like me Heather wasn’t a fan either.

Thankyou to @netgalley and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for sending me this book to read and review, sorry I couldn’t finish it. I did try

My initial thoughts were a little worrying after delving into the first chapter where this book suspiciously used the title close to an Agatha Christie classic and then introduced an elderly spinster with a nephew into the story. Quickly, I was taken across the pond to hear the story of an LAPD homicide detective and I wondered if the printers had printed the wrong chapter as it was so different to the opening piece. In the following chapters and the first part of the book we have two completely separate stories, one based in LA and another in Scotland. It was only after the two individuals merged in Scotland, did this story really take off for me. This is a long book and this perhaps explains why it took so long to really start and to begin to understand why these two detectives, one professional and one amateur, combined to lead us through the last part of the story. The publishing industry is torn apart in the latter stages. I did wonder if this was based on a real story. I probably wouldn't have chosen this book had it not been for the links to Agatha Christie, but I’m pleased I did because in the end I became more and more interested and having read for several hours I certainly wasn't going to stop before knowing the who and the why.

A very different book to anything I have read previously. I chuckled at the title as doing a search on my Kindle the second book in the search was Agatha Christie book The Mirror Cracked and the book does partially lean towards Agatha Christie style. For me it was a little drawn out so it lost a star for that but definitely quite original and at times entertaining. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Quite a different read from Chris Brookmyre that merges 2 very different detectives from quite contrasting lives together to solve a mystery that spans America and Scotland.

Slow moving but whilst still very much able to catch your attention this is a complex story to piece together.

In parts quite dark and moving for a mystery, it definitely offers something quite apart from the norm and comes highly recommended as this odd couple make for an intriguing, exciting and often humour filled investigative team.

Very good

Johnny Hawke is an LAPD homicide detective. Penny Coyne is an octogenarian who has solved several mysteries in her local, quiet village and against all odds their worlds collide.

I don’t want to say too much about this plot as I think it’s best to go in not knowing much to avoid spoiling parts. I was initially drawn to this as I loved the idea of a cross over of detective genres, with the hybrid being Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly. It was definitely an intriguing, complex and original read. I found it started strongly and I was interested to understand what was happening and where the story would go. There was an interesting twist which was definitely unexpected.

Although this started strongly I found that my interest started waning as the story progressed and it became quite slow, possibly because the novel was so long. I have to admit to being confused at times also. This is a novel worth checking out though, especially for those who want to read something clever and a little different. I could imaging this being made into a film. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Well... this one started out as what felt like a reasonably regular cosy crime mystery when we meet Penny Coyne who, as the local amateur sleuth, is trying to solve a murder at a nearby church. Then we switch to Johnny Hawke, seasoned LAPD homicide detective who skirts close to the edge of what he is allowed to do, but is always trying to find the truth, whose boss has assigned him to a high-profile Hollywood case.

I don't want to say more, because I am so glad I went in not knowing too much about this story. The only thing I will say is, as far apart as the two stories start, Penny and Johnny do cross paths and it may just be the next buddy-cop partnership we all need!

What a roller coaster! The book starts fairly straight forward with Penny Coyne trying to solve a murder in Scotland and Johnny Hawke in LA. Johnny's search ends up in Scotland with Penny and they team up to solve both murders, but it becomes more complicated. I really enjoyed reading the book even when I guessed the major twist but then some things didn't tie up. It does get complicated and I started to get the characters muddled. A great read but a disappointing ending. I had hoped that this was a new series with Penny and Johnny working as a team.
This is the first Chris Brookmyre book I have read and will certainly read more.
I would have given three and a half stars but gave four as I did enjoy reading it.

I could not have been more excited when I saw a new book was going to be published by Chris Brookmyre. After reading and absolutely loving The Cut a few years ago, I have been tirelessly working my way back through his back catalogue - including all the Jack Parlabane novels.

What I love about Brookmyre’s writing is his ability to transport you immediately to a particular time and place - one occasion in this book was a particular bar order of Hendricks and Fevertree tonic with cucumber. But that’s just an example - a previous book subtlely mentions being RickRolled - and there are countless other little Easter Eggs to discover.

The writing is exceptionally clever. The Cracked Mirror winds seamlessly through genres: hard boiled detective fiction, cozy whodunnit to the seemingly unlikely sci fi alternate realities. As soon as Italian Calvino was mentioned, I know this novel was going to get mega meta.

And it’s not just a story about story writing, a novel about novelists, a creation about creators. It’s a political and philosophical comment on what life is. What is consciousness? What does it mean to exist? To live? How is technology about to change the world we live in forever?

Oh, and there’s no doubt that Brookmyre’s legendary ridiculous violence and action sees a place here too. There’s always a place for an indestructible anti-hero.

Chris Brookmyre is very good at delivering off-beat twists and keeping readers on their toes. His latest book, The Cracked Mirror, is a witty and surprising novel that revels in over turning the crime fiction conventions that we all love.

It is difficult to describe The Cracked Mirror without inadvertently giving away some of the surprises, and I think that I will stick to what the publishers provide:

“FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW
THIS IS NOT THAT CRIME NOVEL

You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a twinset and tweed.

You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes.

Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer.”

As the plot summary suggests, the book opens with the two protagonists pursuing their own mysteries. In the small Scottish town of Glen Cluthar Penny has just come back from her holidays and has started investigating a murder in the nearby local church. She has also been invited to a wedding, but she doesn’t know who invited her. While in Los Angeles Johnny Hawke has suspicions that the open and shut suicide that he is investigating is not as straight forward as it seems. Very quickly the two storylines come together.

The plot generally moves along at a reasonable pace, although it does lag at times, and the writing is always witty and engaging. Brookmyre brings plenty of humour to story with some good one-liners and nice descriptions, especially of Glen Cluthar and its inhabitants, and the many tourists ("spatial awareness of blind hippos").

As protagonists, Penny and Hawke tend towards caricature, but that is probably the point. As the book progresses they become more fleshed out and nuanced, and there is genuine poignancy and reflection at times. The other characters are also well sketched and interesting. There is a big twist towards the end, although there are plenty of clues from the beginning suggesting what might be happening, and the various minor mysteries and ‘whodunits’ are cleverly resolved.

I really enjoyed The Cracked Mirror. I suspect that it might not be to everyone’s taste, but it is certainly well worth reading.

Penny Coyne and Johnny Hawke make an unlikely crime fighting pairing. Thrown together at a society wedding, both with a background in crime solving, Penny and Johnny must work together to find out what really happened to the bride. But the mystery doesn’t stop there, with historic deaths and current corruption expanding the web surrounding the influential Pierpoint family. Penny and Johnny must travel far and wide, and have their own fair share of adventures to crack the case.

With a fascinating mash up of Christie-esque cosy crime and tough guy LAPD cop action, The Cracked Mirror is a joy to read. There are twists and turns galore, an army of supporting characters and the protagonists own personalities to explore.

The ending is definitely divisive, and some readers may decide it’s not for them, but the journey to get there is well worth it!

The synopsis intrigued me for one, but when I started it I wasn't sure at all. There are two different stories at the start and there was flitting between the two. It was not until the two joined that I really then got a feel for the story.

So, Johnny Hawke is a homicide detective and he plays a different game to the milder mannered Penny Coyne who is an older lady in a small Scottish village.

How the two join up is pretty good and I did enjoy the contrast between the two. They are both brought together for a wedding of a prominent publishing family. While waiting to for the ceremony to take place there is a death. It is similar to one the Johnny has just left in LA, he had been following a lead that brought him to the UK and Penny is there by invitation although the connection between her the the family is very tenuous.

AS I mentioned earlier, I didn't quite get this to start with but then suddenly once it gelled I was hooked, there banter between the Detective and the Elderly mystery solver was very good. The author has drawn out their traits and personalities well and this adds a lot to the story. There is some real thriller and danger moments as well as quite a few unanswered questions. Things seem to happen rather quickly and links are made quite fast.

It is not until the last part of the story that the real story is revealed, there is a lead up to this and I did have that eureka moment. You know the one where you "no! It can't be !!!" or words to that effect!

Once this is revealed the story takes on a completely different feel and that part I enjoyed. This story is one that is set out in stages, the slower start followed by the main story and then finally the realisation that what you thought you knew has completely changed.

This is not your usual crime, mystery and thriller story. It is one that is different in several respects but also similar in others. Very convoluted I know, sorry. If you are looking for a story that is a mix of mystery, thriller and crime then this is one you may enjoy. I do think this will divide readers but for me I am glad I read it and I would recommend it.

I’ve read and enjoyed other books by this author but “The Cracked Mirror” just did not do it for me. I almost gave up at the beginning- it only started to get vaguely interesting a third of the way through.
The first part of the book felt like I was reading two different stories with so many characters I really could not get my head round all of them. I really had to force myself to pick up the book which is not a good sign.
Penny Coyne is a Miss Marple type of investigator, elderly but good at solving crimes in her native Scotland . When invited to a local wedding at a posh hotel she witnesses a suicide which she suspects is murder. However she has no idea who has invited her to the function which is rather odd.
Johnny Hawke is a police lieutenant in Los Angeles and he’s also investigating a suicide which again appears to be suspicious. In the course of his enquiry Johnny runs into some trouble and although suspended he decides to continue the investigation.
Somehow the two team up when Johnny follows the trail to the UK and once this happens the book becomes more interesting as they try and work out what is going on and how the deaths are connected.
That being said I found the denouement very strange and I almost felt cheated. The explanation was hard to believe and I found the final third of the novel which dealt with computer games almost as bewildering as the first part.
Unfortunately this was not a book I particularly enjoyed although I quite liked the two main characters. I think it was the plot that I found difficult to comprehend and the strange ending which left me slightly confused . There were also too many minor characters which meant I could barely remember who some of them were.
I did finish the book and I liked Penny and Johnny so I’m giving “The Cracked Mirror “3 stars with the proviso that it might appeal more to another reader.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

I have reviewed The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre for book recommendation and sales site LoveReading.co.uk. I’ve chosen this novel as a LoveReading Star Book and Liz Pick of the month for August. The review (see link) appears on our website and will be circulated in our newsletters.

You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing his partners, but always battling with the truth, whatever it takes. You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a Sunday best hat. Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might just come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer.

This book is quite long, with just under five hundred pages. We get two storylines - the first is set in Scotland, and eighty-year-old Penny Coyne, who is investigating the murder of a body found at the local church. The second is LAPD cop Johnny Hawke, who has been sent to investigate a possible suicide with a new partner. The crime eventually leads Johnny to Scotland, where he meets Penny.

Don't let the premise put you off this book, as it nearly did me. Filled with clues, twists, interesting main characters. I loved Penny. Even though they live on different sides of the pond, Johnny and Penny find themselves at the same wedding in Scotland. This is a cleverly written story that's part cosy crime, part thriller.

Published 18th July 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley #LittleBrownBookGroupUK and the author #ChrisBrookmyre for my ARC of #TheMirrorCracked in exchange for an hinest review.